"Inside" and "Outside" Spanish Flamenco: Gender Constructions in Andalusian Concepts of Flamenco Tradition

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between and commercial expressions of Spanish flamenco in light of gender systems of meaning. At the center of the flamenco tradition are Andalusian flamenco aficionados who practice an intimate, private, and emotional exchange of flamenco in exclusive pefia clubs, which directly contrast flamenco performed publicly and spectacularly in commercial venues for purposes of tourism. In the juxtaposition created between traditional and commercial flamenco, aficionados establish a contrast modeled after the complementary relationship between female and male modes of sociability in respective domains of private and public. By establishing performance contrasts through gender concepts, aficionados not only reveal how gender notions of unity and division can ultimately generate local and national performance sensibilities, but in doing so, they affirm a cultural identity against change in Spanish society. [flamenco, gender, Spain, tourism, tradition] The passion and intrigue of flamenco music and dance have captivated the exotic imagination of many travelers and tourists to Spain. While the bullfight is another tourist attraction or icon of Spain, flamenco has gained a broader acceptance nowadays because of its non-violent nature; tourists of European Union countries are very ambivalent about the bullfight (Douglass 1997: 98), but not about fla

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